It might be the most ironically named new mountain bike brand of 2021, but Less Brakes are promising to make your brakes work better.

The man behind this new brake pad supplier is Luis García, who brought Ride Panzer rim inserts to market.

Brake pad material is a very personal choice, depending on rider preference. Those who need superior stopping power, will have different expectations from riders who want a specific lever feel, or durability.

Read more: mountain bike brakes 

No single brake pad can deliver immense deceleration, durability and lever dexterity. Less Brakes is a new venture by Luis García, and beyond the vivid 1980s style product packaging, there are some noteworthy pads on offer.

All the pads from Less Brakes are compatible with legacy callipers from SRAM, Shimano, AVID, Formula, Hope, Magura, TRP and Trick Stuff.

Making brake pads easier to understand

Riders have two core choices with the Less Brakes range, selecting between three compounds. The types will be familiar to any experienced mountain biker – sintered, organic and ceramic. Less Brakes has chosen to market the pad compounds with simpler labelling.

Instead of having to guess what the attributes of a sintered or organic brake pad material would be, the tags are simply: powerful, balanced and progressive.

For downhill, enduro and e-bike riders there are the Less  Brakes powerful pads, which feature an American sourced sintered material composition. These pads are claimed to work potently at any temperature gradient and the abrasive pad material has embedded lubricant additives.

You can have temperature neutral ceramics, too

Riders who need something that is very reactive, even at low temperatures, can opt for the Less Brakes balanced pads. Pure red copper and resin are blended to form the semi-metallic pad compound.

If durability is your primary concern when replacing brake pads, the Less Brakes progressive should do a tidy job. Made from a metal-free ceramic compound, these brakes resist heat soak, making them ideal for those long alpine descents.

Less Brakes has finalised the product development and manufacturing details for its new brake pad line. The brand expects to have product available by March, with pricing to be confirmed at that time.